NEWARK — The East Side High School Raiders in Newark probably weren’t going to be good this year. Their best hockey players graduated, leaving them mostly with rookies and kids who’ve never skated.

Anthony Dos Santos, a sophomore, and Kevin Lopez, the team captain, didn’t care.

It was going to be a great season — win or lose — because, based on their record last year, Newark’s only high school hockey team was admitted to the Essex League, where they would get the kind of tough competition Coach Keith Veltre felt his guys needed.

"I like the challenge, even though it was going to be a rough season,’’ said Dos Santos.

Dec. 1 was their first game, but they didn’t lace up.

Newark’s aging Ironbound skating rink was not ready — again — to be used for practice. It’s a recurring maintenance saga, but this time city officials said Hurricane Irene damaged the rink’s 40-something-year-old operating system. So there was little ice time.

Veltre couldn’t put inexperienced players into games without practice, so he pulled the team out of the league.

"If we had sufficient ice time, we could have gotten them prepared for the season,’’ he said.

The Raiders are used to hard luck where the rink is concerned, and so is the Ironbound community that shares it with them. Every year it’s always something. The Zamboni machine that smooths out the ice is broken. The roof leaks and puddles form. Sometimes fog seeps in and covers the ice. Last year, the ice melted days before a playoff game and the team had to practice at the New Jersey Devils’ practice arena at the Prudential Center. The list has gone on and on for the 10 years Veltre has been there, longer for others.

Matthew Evaristo, who came up through Veltre’s program, gets frustrated when the rink is closed. He’s 21 and still likes to play, so he’ll skate in Union or with friends on a frozen pond in Essex Fells. Evaristo feels for the current players, calling it déjà vu — he didn’t play his junior year at East Side for the same reason — the ice wasn’t ready.

Anne Torres, the city’s communication director, said the hurricane caused $150,000 damage to the rink but crews were on the case making repairs. She said the rink is scheduled for renovations in March — fresh paint, new lockers, floor mats, bathroom features and upgrades to the plumbing and electrical systems.

Ed Murray/The Star-LedgerCesar Dos Santos talks to his son Anthony Dos Santos as the East Side High School's hockey team practices on the ice at the Ironbound skating rink on Dec. 19. The skating rink was damaged by Hurricane Irene and the team had to cancel it's season.

"We apologize to our residents for this inconvenience and ask for their patience as we work to provide them with an improved recreational facility."

The rink looked like it was going to open early this month, but a motor shorted out on an ice making compressor. Binsky & Snyder, a contractor who serviced the compressors last year, had the machinery operating fine until they learned about the electrical problems.

"If we had known about the flood issues, we could have tested for other things and got a better handle on the possible extent of repairs,’’ said Company President Mike Rapp. "The water damage could have hastened its (motor) demise.’’

Just as the Raiders were giving up, city officials finally got the motor fixed and the rink — finally — was up and ready for skaters this week.

Veltre and his assistant coach, Dennis Ruppe, have been itching to teach and get neighborhood kids back on the ice. That’s why they started "Hockey in Newark,’’an instructional program that has sparked interest in the sport in a city that is hardly a home of Stanley Cup Champion.

Newark kids gung-ho for hockey?

Well 68 came out for the team last year and they made the playoffs. It also helps that the team has the backing of the NHL Devils.

"Let’s work hard and we’ll make it worth your while,’’ Veltre told his players at Monday’s practice.

And when the Raiders hit the ice on Monday they came out screaming with enthusiasm, flying across the rink into skating drills around the face off circles.

Cody Smith paid a $15 cab ride to make it to practice. He’s says he’s been in hockey withdrawal, feeding his desire by watching NHL games on television.

"That just souped me up even more,’’ he said.

Ed Murray/The Star-LedgerCoach Keith Veltre watches drills as East Side High School's hockey team practices on the ice at the Ironbound skating rink on Monday, Dec. 19. The skating rink was damaged by Hurricane Irene and the team had to cancel it's season.

Dos Santos can’t get enough of the game. Up until high school, he lived with his mom in the Atlantic Highlands. He got hooked on the sport during visits with his dad, a Newark resident who enrolled him in Veltre’s program. When high school came around, Dos Santos’ mother let him move to Newark to live with his father so he could play at East Side — the Atlantic Highlands didn’t have a team.

"I told my mom, I have to play for that team,’’ he said. "That’s how much I wanted to play.’’

His teammate, Kevin Lopez, is a senior at Newark’s Technology High School, but he travels across town to suit up. He said hockey became his world when he didn’t make a traveling soccer team in the seventh grade. His mother pulled a flyer about the hockey program from his bookbag and bugged him to sign up. The goalie mask has been a perfect fit ever since.

"I love the thrill of being on the ice,’’ he said. "It’s you versus the world.’’

Keep your fingers crossed for the Raiders and hope that things keep breaking their way.
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